The start of the Heineken Cup saw the battle for a place on the British & Irish Lions' tour to Australia intensify with the battles between Europe's best set to be a key proving ground in the coming months.

There is a lot of rugby to be played until the squad board the plane for Hong Kong and plenty of time for hopes to rise and fall with many international stars yet to return to the domestic fray but the excitement is already building.

Despite Exeter being on the wrong end of a hammering against Clermont, Arscott's performance was up there with the best. His second-half dummy on Sitiveni Sivivatu was class and he also made some good ground.

It was a confident performance from the 22-year-old centre and he capped an impressive showing with a try after just six minutes. He showed no signs of being fazed by the challenge of Jordan Turner Hall and got the edge over the England centre on a few occasions.

We're cheating a bit here, but we had to get both Arscott and the Welsh flyer into the team despite Halfpenny lining up at fullback against Toulon. He missed a couple of kicks against the French side but scored a sensational try and constantly pinned them back with the boot.

Flood was in inspired form against the Ospreys and contributed 24 points to their total. He scored an intercept try and also booted over a monster penalty from way inside his own half. He appears to be hitting top form at just the right time before the autumn internationals. Saracens' Charlie Hodgson and Leinster's Jonny Sexton pushed Flood close for a spot in the team.

The scrum-half was a constant thorn in Connacht's side and capped his impressive performance with two tries. He looks likely to be England's first-choice No.9 going into the November Tests and if he continues in this vein on the international stage then he is in with a real shout of making the Lions tour. Munster's Conor Murray, Leicester's Ben Youngs and Exeter's Haydn Thomas also deserve honourable mentions.

He was outstanding in the loose and also got the edge on Geoff Cross in the scrum. Munster's pack was one of the primary reasons behind their win over Edinburgh and Kilcoyne was at the forefront of everything they did well.

Borthwick scored a try for Sarries and exerted his influence throughout their clash with Racing Metro. He seems to be out of the England mix but he is still one of the most consistent operators in the Premiership.